Oh, no need to apologize--I'm flattered that you liked what I said!
I pretty much agree with your list of themes that you expected to see. I hesitate to elevate Snape as the exemplar of "what true virtue looks like," because that seems to imply that only his type is true. But I certainly think he's a strong and important example of a certain kind of virtue/Sainthood, and that he wasn't used as well as he could have been.
I honestly think she tried to transfer some of Snape's thunder as "the guy who screwed up and carried on" to new!improved!Dumbledore. Can't say it worked for me, though.
And, of course, I expected a loving sacrifice on Harry's part.... I didn't quite get it; to me, the sacrifice Rowling wrote felt mechanical, and therefore like cheating.
"Cheating" is a good way of putting it. I suspect this is one of the big dividing lines between people who like the book and people who didn't. For some, Harry's sacrifice apparently works and is very moving.
I'm responding because, as a Christian, I, too, took her seriously when Rowling said she was writing a Christian story. She didn't do anything of the kind, IMHO.
I can see some elements, but it didn't go anywhere near as far as I expected it to.
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Re: The "wrong Christian perspective" again
Date: 2007-08-08 04:06 pm (UTC)I pretty much agree with your list of themes that you expected to see. I hesitate to elevate Snape as the exemplar of "what true virtue looks like," because that seems to imply that only his type is true. But I certainly think he's a strong and important example of a certain kind of virtue/Sainthood, and that he wasn't used as well as he could have been.
I honestly think she tried to transfer some of Snape's thunder as "the guy who screwed up and carried on" to new!improved!Dumbledore. Can't say it worked for me, though.
And, of course, I expected a loving sacrifice on Harry's part.... I didn't quite get it; to me, the sacrifice Rowling wrote felt mechanical, and therefore like cheating.
"Cheating" is a good way of putting it. I suspect this is one of the big dividing lines between people who like the book and people who didn't. For some, Harry's sacrifice apparently works and is very moving.
I'm responding because, as a Christian, I, too, took her seriously when Rowling said she was writing a Christian story. She didn't do anything of the kind, IMHO.
I can see some elements, but it didn't go anywhere near as far as I expected it to.
Thanks a lot for your comment! ^_^